Networking. What exactly is it?

Networking is the art of building relationships with other people. Most people will associate networking with business networking, where business representatives or owners meet to get to know one another and hence possibly using each other's services or promote each other's services. However, networking is not restricted to business. It could be personal too. One of the best ways to get a job these is not really through a job board nor is it through the recruiter. It is actually through networking with others. However, the main concept of networking is building relationships. The point of networking with others or businesses isn't to sell something, whether it be yourself or your business. It's to market yourself or your business. By building relationships with other people you then permit them to know about you or your business and as the relationship grows, trust will happen and therefore they would become more willing to interact with you. This is applicable in business or something personal like in a job hunt or perhaps locating a good doctor in the community though your network.

For business networking, it's usually fruitful to join a local business networking group or the local chamber of commerce. Do not anticipate to get a sale immediately from the members you meet. Look to it as more of a place to get to know potential clients and marketers for your business but don't try to sell them on anything. As they start to get to know and trust you then they would be more prepared to work with you.

The same can probably be said for personal networking. For instance, If you're looking for a job when you do not have one, it is often difficult to just go and enroll in a network or to develop a network with the sole purpose of asking for a job. It is often best to grow your personal network slowly and then build upon the relationships. It is best done when you still have a job. When and if the time comes and you need to find a new job then you would have established your network and one of them could have a job for you or are aware of someone. You could make new friends by joining groups within sites like meetup.com and join groups with your same interests. Whether it is a business network or a personal network, it is very important that you do not expect too much from your network. They don't owe you anything and usually only refer you or recommend you once they trust you. Trust will take time for it to cultivate and nurture and you have to generally be patient about it. It's also important to reciprocate. So you have got to assist your network group too. No one likes somebody that just takes and takes. All things considered, it's all about helping one another succeed in business as well as in life.

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